Mr. Mayer Economics

Economic Systems

Why do we have Economic Systems?

• Survival for any society depends on its ability to provide food, clothing, and shelter for its people.

• The Economic System is the organized way a society provides for the wants and needs of its people.

Three Economic Systems

• Traditional Economy • Command Economy • Market Economy

Traditional Economy

• Economic activity is based on ritual, habit and custom

Strengths of Traditional Economies

• Everyone knows their role • Little uncertainty over what to produce or how to produce • The question of For Whom to produce is answered by custom • Life is generally stable, predictable, and continuous

Weaknesses of Traditional Economies

• Tends to discourage new ideas • Lack of progress leads to lower standard of living

Command Economy

• Central authority makes most economic decisions • Economic decisions are made at the top and the people are expected to go along with choices their leaders make

Strengths of Command Economies

• Change direction drastically in a relatively short time (The USSR went from an agrarian to industrial nation in a very short time)

Weaknesses of Command Economy

• Not designed to meet the wants and needs of individuals • Lack of incentives to work hard leads to unexpected results • Large bureaucracy for economic planning • Not flexible in dealing with minor day to day problems • People with new or unique ideas are stifled

Market Economy •People and firms act in their own best interest to answer economic questions

Market Economy •Markets allow buyers and sellers to come together in order to exchange goods and services

Strengths • Markets can adjust over time • Freedom exists for everyone involved • Relatively small degree of governmental influence • Decision making is decentralized • Variety of goods and services are produced • High degree of consumer satisfaction

Weaknesses • The primary weakness is deciding for whom to produce • The young, sick and old would have difficulty in a pure market environment • Markets sometimes fail – Competition (monopolies may develop) – Resource mobility (resources are sometimes hindered from moving about) – Availability of information (producers often have more information than do consumers, which gives them advantage)